How do I set up shared storage for a team of developers and ops?

Setting up shared storage for a dev + ops team depends mostly on what you need to share:

• Docs / images / small files → cloud drive or file share
• Build artifacts / backups / logs → object storage or network file share
• Code → Git, not shared storage
• VM images / containers / datasets → artifact registry, object storage, or NAS

Here’s a practical way to approach it.

1) Pick the right storage type

A. Cloud file share / NAS

Best for:

• Shared folders
• Editing files directly
• Tools that expect POSIX-like file access

Examples:

• AWS EFS / FSx
• Azure Files / Azure NetApp Files
• Google Filestore
• Self-hosted: NFS, Samba, CephFS

B. Object storage

Best for:

• Backups
• Build artifacts
• Logs
• Large binaries
• Data sets

Examples:

• S3
• Azure Blob Storage
• Google Cloud Storage
• MinIO on-prem

C. Git + artifact store

Best for:

• Source code
• CI outputs
• Packages
• Container images

Examples:

• GitHub/GitLab/Bitbucket
• Nexus/Artifactory
• Container registry

2) Use permissions and group structure

Create groups like:

• dev-read
• dev-write
• ops-read
• ops-admin
• project-x

Then set access by:

• Least privilege
• Role-based access
• Separate read/write/admin permissions

Avoid giving everyone full access to everything.

3) Organize the storage layout

A simple structure:

/shared
  /team
    /docs
    /artifacts
    /logs
    /backups
  /project-a
    /builds
    /configs
    /exports

Good practices:

• Separate by team/project
• Keep environment folders separate: dev/, staging/, prod/
• Don’t mix secrets with normal shared files

4) Secure it

Minimum baseline:

• Encrypt at rest
• Encrypt in transit
• Require SSO/MFA where possible
• Audit access logs
• Restrict network access to VPN/VPC/private subnet
• Back up the storage itself

For sensitive data:

• Use a secrets manager, not shared folders
• Don’t store private keys or passwords in general shared storage

5) Set ownership and process

Define:

• Who approves access
• Who manages retention
• Who can delete files
• How long files stay before cleanup
• Naming conventions

Example policy:

• Ops owns infrastructure and backups
• Dev owns project artifacts
• Deletions of shared files require approval
• Files older than 90 days in /artifacts may be archived

6) Automate setup

Use infrastructure as code if possible:

• Terraform
• Ansible
• CloudFormation/Bicep/Pulumi

Automate:

• Bucket/share creation
• IAM/ACLs
• Lifecycle policies
• Monitoring alerts
• Backup schedules

7) Recommended setups by environment

Small team / fast start

• Google Drive / SharePoint / OneDrive for docs
• GitHub/GitLab for code
• S3/Blob/GCS for artifacts
• Optional NFS/NAS for special shared files

Medium team

• SSO-based cloud file share for team docs
• Object storage for artifacts/backups
• Artifact repository for packages
• Strict IAM groups

Larger or regulated team

• Separate storage by environment and project
• Private network access only
• Full audit logging
• Backup + disaster recovery plan
• Automated access reviews

8) A good default recommendation

If you’re unsure, this combo works well:

• Git for code
• Object storage for artifacts/backups/logs
• Cloud file share or NAS only for files that must be mounted like a filesystem
• Secrets manager for secrets

If you want, I can also give you:

1. a cloud-specific setup for AWS/Azure/GCP, or
2. a self-hosted Linux/NFS/Samba setup for an office or on-prem server.